Barcelona knew Arsenal would become disorganised - Mascherano

Javier Mascherano has revealed he and his Barcelona teammates knew Arsenal wouldn't be able to cope with the La Liga champs for the entirety of their round of 16 first-leg match at the Emirates on Tuesday, but has cautioned the tie has not yet been decided.

Barcelona put on a patient performance in their 2-0 defeat of Arsene Wenger's side, waiting until the second half to pick off the Gunners with a pair of goals from a brilliant Lionel Messi.

The two teams are no strangers to Champions League clashes with each other. However the Catalan giants have experienced a one-sided rivalry with Premier League outfit, eliminating Arsenal in the 2006, 2010 and 2011 editions of the competition.

Speaking a day after Barcelona's most recent triumph, in which a resolute Arsenal stood firm for long stretches, the Barcelona defender said it was always a matter of when, not if, their opponents would lose their way in defence.